Let me be clear: I love the tv series!

While I do still prefer the books, I thoroughly enjoy the show—including the liberties taken with characters & story lines (Angus, Rupert, need I say more?)

But it saddens me, as an Outlander fan, that the non-book readers have not experienced the painful yet satisfying sexual-healing of the ‘Stinging Nettle’ scene (which has a correlating recipe from Outlander Kitchen w/an excerpt of that scene by the way), or the more pronounced (yet subtle) badass-ness of Jamie in general.

Take this scene for example. A no-nonsense display of chivalry by Jamie in defending Claire’s honor to Simon Jr (who is hardly spineless, as he was portrayed in the show):

Dragonfly in Amber, chapter 40:

(Young Simon Fraser, to Claire) “I’d heard of ye, you know,” he said. “You’ve a bit of fame through the Highlands, Mistress.”

“Oh really? How nice.” I tugged inconspicuously; in response, his hand tightened around mine in a grip that was nearly painful.”

“Oh aye. I’ve heard you’re verra popular with the men of your husband’s command,” he said, smiling so hard his eyes narrowed to dark-brown slits. “They call ye neo-geimnidh meala, I hear. That means ‘Mistress honeylips,’ ” he translated, seeing my look of bewilderment at the unfamiliar Gaelic.

“Why, thank you…” I began, but got no more than the first words out before Jamie’s fist crashed into Simon Junior’s jaw and sent his half-uncle reeling into a piecrust table, scattering sweetmeats and serving spoons across the polished slates with a terrific clatter.

He dressed like a gentleman, but he had a brawler’s instincts. Young simon rolled up onto his knees, fists clenched, and froze there. Jamie stood over him, fists doubled but loose, his stillness more menacing than open threat.

“No,” he said evenly, “she doesna have much Gaelic. And now that ye’ve proved it to everyone’s satisfaction, ye’ll kindly apologize to my wife, before I kick your teeth down your throat.”

I know that they changed Simon Jr’s & Laoghaire’s storyline to make a different upcoming storyline more palatable, and that the rest of this season and the beginning of next are what ultimately shape Jamie’s ‘King of Men’ reputation, but I miss his subtle humor, his understated confidence.

They nailed that in the very first episode, 101, when Jamie is preventing Claire from escaping by threatening to throw her over his injured shoulder, lol …

It can’t be easy to translate Diana Gabaldon’s work into another medium; that’s akin to messing with perfection.

In the books, I feel like Jamie’s tougher, a little more rough around the edges. That’s no criticism of Sam Heughan or Production, mind you, they absolutely are doing JAMMF & Outlander justice. Perhaps it’s just the way it translates to script…

(But seriously, isn’t Jamie defending Claire’s honor in such an ‘alpha male’ way a turn-on, lol?)

Not only is today #WorldOutlanderDay, but Starz has renewed “Outlander” for both Seasons 3 AND 4!

Season 3 will be based on Voyager, and Season 4 Drums of Autumn.

“Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said of the renewal:

…On this 25th anniversary of the publication of the first book in the U.S., we are thrilled and honored to be able to continue the story that began with author Diana Gabaldon, and is brought to life by the incredibly talented Ronald D. Moore. There are no better storytellers for ‘Outlander’ than this team, both in front and behind the camera.” ~ Variety.com

Starz is making episode 1 of Outlander, “Sassenach,” available to US residents free for a limited time (Sept. 28th).

“One of the great ironies of the Internet is that it is meant to connect everyone together and break down barriers, but at the same time media companies erect location-based barriers around their properties. This practice is known as geo-blocking…To some people however, these constant attempts by the media industry to segregate users according to geographic location seems unfair. The way around this issue is to use a VPN (which stands for Virtual Private Network) program, such as TunnelBear.

Basically what a VPN does is provide you with a temporary new IP address, which makes the blocked service think you are living in a country where it’s allowed to view the content you are trying to access. We can’t stress enough that using a VPN is perfectly legal, so you don’t have to worry about the cops kicking your front door down with an arrest warrant just for having this software (unless of course you’re using the VPN service for something illegal).” ~ Mark O’Neill, pcworld.com

Is it really and truly legal? It depends on who you ask, and which respective country’s copyright law is being referenced…do your research.

***Disclaimer: Under no circumstance do I believe in freely sharing paid-for/subscription-based content with those who do not pay for or subscribe to said content (i.e. Napster.com, etc.). That constitutes piracy/theft, robbing the actors/artists/crew/networks of their hard-earned profits, a slap-in-the-face to those who worked so hard to bring the project to fruition.

But a VPN does not rob the content-creators of their profit; the way I understand it, it simply gives those who would not otherwise have it, the same access as those who do. It makes the content more widely available.

Does this mean that a non-US resident, using a VPN could actually pay for/subscribe to Starz? I don’t believe you can subscribe to Starz as a web-only customer, but honestly I have no idea. Also, I have not personally utilized the above-mentioned (or any for that matter) VPN, nor do I represent them in any way. They are just an example of a VPN that I found reviewed by pcworld.com.

And respectfully, Starz has made this first episode available for free via the avenues listed earlier; I feel like utilizing a VPN in this instance, for this FIRSTepisode onlyduring the free-viewing-timeframe set by Starz, can only increase the fervor/demand from the countries who have yet to pick up the series…

In the meantime, the end-goal is still for countries around the world to broadcast Outlander, so I encourage residents in those countries that have not yet picked up the series to continue campaigning—call the networks, email them, Tweet them! Be relentless!

Here is a list of Twitter handles collected from our ongoing #WorldwideTVNeedsOutlander campaign:

Bear McCreary performing score of Outlander at its World Premiere SDCC.

“Last summer, Ron Moore called me to score his exciting new series, Outlander. I was familiar with Gabaldon’s famous book series, and knew that it took place right in the sweet spot of my historical passion…” ~ Bear McCreary

I was lucky enough to be invited to and attend the World Premiere of Outlander at San Diego ComicCon this past weekend (fourth row center —gah!). Before the screening, the audience was treated to a performance by Composer Bear McCreary on the accordion, Musician Paul Cartright on the fiddle, and Singer Raya Yarbrough.

It was beautiful, spirited and at times ethereal. Along with composing the main title theme & Jamie & Claire’s love theme, he has incorporated Scottish folk tunes into the score—an Outlander fan’s dream come true! Turns out, Bear has been obsessed with Scotland/Scottish music since he was a young child:

“…Scottish music and culture has been an obsession of mine for nearly my entire life. Growing up in Bellingham, WA, my friends and I attended the Highland Games every summer for over a decade…First hearing the rolling and relentless Bb drone of the bagpipe bands get louder as we parked the car and headed towards the grounds gave me the euphoria that most little kids probably feel going to Disneyland…that drone would burrow into my brain, so deep that I could recall it for days, like a residual echo. When Rob Roy and Braveheart came out in the same year, I saw them each in the theaters ten times. When I learned to drive, I cruised my hometown blasting bagpipes from my car speakers.

…I began researching songs of the Jacobite Uprising and the century that followed. I was awestruck by the ability of these songs to communicate hidden meaning, tales of tragedy and triumph, with deceptively simple melodic lines and evocative harmonic progressions. At the later end of that spectrum, the texts of Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson in particular struck me. I realized how the evolutionary threads of American folk music, Appalachian and bluegrass in particular, traced back to Scottish heritage. Shortly after high school, I picked up an accordion and began playing folk tunes, transcribing my own arrangements and composing new harmonic progressions for classic melodies…” ~ Bear McCreary, Outlander Fans’ Guide to My Music

Bear is the real deal; passionate and dedicated with complex tastes—a perfect match for Outlander. I for one absolutely cannot WAIT to buy a copy of the soundtrack as soon as it (God-willing!) becomes available!

Bear wants to hear from Outlander fans, intends to blog about his experiences working on the show:

“Throughout the season, I will blog about my experiences working on this show as often as I can. With a new little baby in the house, my time for blogging is proving to be elusive, so I may not be able to do a full entry for each episode. Nevertheless, I look forward to hearing from all you, via Twitter, Facebook or comments right here on my blog. I want to know what themes you notice, which cues are your favorite, and what music you’d like to experience on a soundtrack album, should that one day come to fruition.” ~ Bear McCreary

I LOVE that he wants to hear from us! That just shows how committed he is to the integrity of the music and, by default, the show. How lucky are we?

I attended the world premiere screening of Outlander last night in San Diego, CA (at SDCC) and I just want to reassure anyone who might still be worrit about Sam being a convincing Jamie- dinna fash!

Even though I trusted Ron Moore & his production team, there was, yes, still a teeny-tiny part of me that wasn’t sure if I’d be able to reconcile Sam with the Jamie I held in my mind’s eye, when I read the books.

Well.

From the very first second “Jamie” appeared in the episode, I was sold. As in DONE. A goner. I wasn’t watching Sam Heughan on screen, I was seeing Jamie. MY Jamie.

And it wasn’t about nitpicking physical features—Sam just embodied Jamie. Or maybe channeled is a better word…

We love these books too; we’re not here to destroy this work, we’re here to honor it. ~ Ron Moore

People who are fans of the books are really going to love this. ~ Caitriona Balfe

It’s recognizably Outlander, but at the same time there’s this wonderful sense of novelty and discovery about it. ~ Diana Gabaldon

Scotland’s rich history provides the dynamic backdrop to the story of Outlander. This country has a particular quality to it; the light has a particular quality, the grass, the trees—the landscape itself is a character in the show. ~ Ron Moore

Every time I walk onto set, there’s at least a split second where I feel like, “this is not a set, this is actually real.” Its so rich, it’s really amazing. ~ Lotte Verbeek

At first when I saw this I Was like, “Gahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Then I realized I’ll be CAMPING that weekend, and I was like, “Noooooooooooo!” Then I remembered I have Xfinity and can watch it on my iPhone and I was like, “Well, it will be on a small screen, but at least I can watch it on DVR when I get home Sunday night.”

THEN I realized that I can bring my laptop with me, and watch it all up-close-and-personal, and I was like, “That’s even better than seeing it on tv! Thank you Jesus for campgrounds with Wifi!”

Before Outlander premieres I will post alternative ways of watching the show.

In the meantime, for those of you not in the US, Canada or Australia, take notice:

International Outlander – URGENT update

We have received word that the completed episodes of Outlander will be shown to international network executives within the next week or two. This is the news we’ve been waiting for! Outlander will sell itself, as long as the executives see it. A little help from us wouldna go amiss, aye?

We are asking all fans in countries who do not have an Outlander deal in place to PLEASE contact their networks by every means possible – e-mail, Twitter, Facebook and overnight snail mail – and ask (beg, beseech, nag, encourage) them to have their representative make a point to see Outlander at the LA Screenings. Time is of the essence as the event starts on May 13, which is next Tuesday. When you contact the network, you should also promise to subscribe, watch and do everything in your power to help promote the series once it airs.

Once we have the date(s) Outlander will be shown at the LA Screenings, we’ll be setting up another #WorldwideTVNeedsOutlander event for all fans. Let’s prove once again that Worldwide TV Does Indeed Need Outlander! ~ Outlander Ambassadors

“Mary Keir” attended the Tartan Day Parade in NYC, her husband and #PocketJamie in tow. The following is what transpired, in her own words:

I brought Pocket Jamie to the Tartan Day Parade in NY yesterday and told my husband my goal was to get a picture of him with Grand Marshal “Howie Nicholsby,” who is the founder of 21st Century Kilts in Edinburgh.

I’m shy to begin with, and Howie was usually surrounded by cool fashionista types so I was very intimidated. My husband gave me a much-needed push and I finally made my way over, said hello, and asked for a picture.

He was perfectly agreeable, but when I pulled out Pocket Jamie, his eyes lit up! He said, “Oh, you know, I dressed him!” To which I replied, “Lucky you!”

(Sam Heughan backstage at 2013 BAFTAs)

(He dressed Sam for the BAFTAs, and maybe other occasions? When he said “I dressed him,” I had a visual of him physically, literally dressing him—and maybe he did). He said Sam is “a lovely guy.”

Then he told me he will be an extra in Outlander.

He wanted to check it all out, so he went to the set one day and they asked him to appear in the show. He mentioned Terry Moore, the costume designer, and said she thought it would be funny/ironic to put him in pants for the role since he is a kilt guy. Then he took out his phone and showed us a picture of him and Sam together in character.

I confess I couldn’t really see it ’cause I didn’t have time to fumble for my reading glasses, but it was nice of him to show us. He said it was the first time he’d worn “trews” in 15 years and it felt really weird; he had to wear them for 3 1/2 days while he filmed his part, which will appear in the 4th episode.

So he cheerfully posed with me and PJ and was as kind as could be, so I was really glad I got my nerve up to approach him.